Title's pretty self-explanatory. I lately have been thinking of sleep paralysis, and the terror that is associated with it. Soo that's what I want to know, how to conquer / translate into other emotion fear while in sleep paralysis. Because knowing myself, my imagination runs off very quickly and am feeling slightly scared of experiencing SP because if I experience something once it from then on happens constantly (like LD'ing)

In my experience, it takes time. I'm fortunate enough to get SP quite regularly. I did a bunch of research on it, and read a lot of really scary experiences, but the ease of lucid dreams and possible astral projection was enough to conquer my fears. I have seen a dark shadowy figure once, and once only. It was quite possibly one of the most disturbing experiences of my life, but even then I approach it as either A) being a dream hallucination projected into my room, or B) an actual being in my room, but just because it looks scary, does not mean that it is a scary or ill-willed being...for all I know it's looking at me as if I'm the scary one . If I had the same opportunity, I would attempt a communication.

But to answer your question, I look at SP as a gift that a lot of people don't have the privilege of experiencing. I have used SP as a launching board for many LD's, and as many attempts to achieve an OBE into the Astral (if it exists, I have yet to experience it). Perspective can conquer any fear.

MAKER wrote:In my experience, it takes time. I'm fortunate enough to get SP quite regularly. I did a bunch of research on it, and read a lot of really scary experiences, but the ease of lucid dreams and possible astral projection was enough to conquer my fears. I have seen a dark shadowy figure once, and once only. It was quite possibly one of the most disturbing experiences of my life, but even then I approach it as either A) being a dream hallucination projected into my room, or B) an actual being in my room, but just because it looks scary, does not mean that it is a scary or ill-willed being...for all I know it's looking at me as if I'm the scary one . If I had the same opportunity, I would attempt a communication.

But to answer your question, I look at SP as a gift that a lot of people don't have the privilege of experiencing. I have used SP as a launching board for many LD's, and as many attempts to achieve an OBE into the Astral (if it exists, I have yet to experience it). Perspective can conquer any fear.

Ah I see. To avoid fear during SP, you simply have to ... stop asking this question because there shouldn't be any fear associated with SP. Once I view it as more of a stepping stone to a potential LD. Thank you, you just lifted something off my chest.

But... let's be honest here, this is a lot easier said than done. I can think "oh ya this will be a LD soon" but as soon as I see that white, praying mantis-like humanoid with no eyes and massive calloused hands and an evil smile and laugh come creeping into my room walking backwards on the ceiling with its hands twisted backwards(actually saw this guy in an LD once!) I know that personally, pure, irrational fear shall consume me and frankly, I will most likely have completely forgotten my earlier rationale. So... if that happens what should I do?

Fear creates the "Fight or Flight" response. So without any rational thought we choose one or the other. I've had some sleep paralysis nightmares and if I can move I fight it and get away. Once I leave my room, and the dream version of my house, the outdoors tends to be a pleasant lucid dream without any fear. It's like the ordeal it put behind me and I'm free to enjoy my lucid dream adventure.

With more time and experience I don't get SP nightmares much anymore. Yesterday I felt muscle atonia (sleep paralysis), but there was no fear what so ever. I just felt my body relax and go limp like a rag doll and felt like my body was being 'shrink wrapped' with a slight pressure pushing in on my entire body. If it was my first time, I would have wondered "who" was "out there" doing it to me, which created the nightmares in the first place. Now with more familiarity with the sensation I can relax, let it be, and think happy thoughts.

Muscle Atonia, is just a sensation. With more familiarity comes understanding and it doesn't always have to be accompanied with fear. I still feel fear from time to time, but I've gotten use to it and desensitized with time, so it's not only infrequent, but familiar to me when it does happen, so it doesn't freak me out as much as it did the first few times it happened.

MAKER wrote:In my experience, it takes time. I'm fortunate enough to get SP quite regularly. I did a bunch of research on it, and read a lot of really scary experiences, but the ease of lucid dreams and possible astral projection was enough to conquer my fears. I have seen a dark shadowy figure once, and once only. It was quite possibly one of the most disturbing experiences of my life, but even then I approach it as either A) being a dream hallucination projected into my room, or B) an actual being in my room, but just because it looks scary, does not mean that it is a scary or ill-willed being...for all I know it's looking at me as if I'm the scary one . If I had the same opportunity, I would attempt a communication.

But to answer your question, I look at SP as a gift that a lot of people don't have the privilege of experiencing. I have used SP as a launching board for many LD's, and as many attempts to achieve an OBE into the Astral (if it exists, I have yet to experience it). Perspective can conquer any fear.

Ah I see. To avoid fear during SP, you simply have to ... stop asking this question because there shouldn't be any fear associated with SP. Once I view it as more of a stepping stone to a potential LD. Thank you, you just lifted something off my chest.

But... let's be honest here, this is a lot easier said than done. I can think "oh ya this will be a LD soon" but as soon as I see that white, praying mantis-like humanoid with no eyes and massive calloused hands and an evil smile and laugh come creeping into my room walking backwards on the ceiling with its hands twisted backwards(actually saw this guy in an LD once!) I know that personally, pure, irrational fear shall consume me and frankly, I will most likely have completely forgotten my earlier rationale. So... if that happens what should I do?

I'd treat that like a lucid dream if you have something you are seeing that is interacting with you eg coming at you.. rather then it just simply being just an image. It is likely that you have aleady entered into a LD and the body you are thinking you are feeling yourself in, is probably not your real physical one.

So treat something like that as a LD and start reacting just like one would if they found themselves in a LD in a place other then in their bedroom laying on their bed. In other words, it is your dream so try to take control of it eg think about attacking that scary thing you see. Keeping in mind that its a dream so it can not really hurt you. If you didnt want to attack it... think of it becoming something you do not at all fear.. eg morphing into a butterfly and hold that thought strongly.

We can start creating dreams before we feel like we are fully into them.

MAKER wrote:In my experience, it takes time. I'm fortunate enough to get SP quite regularly. I did a bunch of research on it, and read a lot of really scary experiences, but the ease of lucid dreams and possible astral projection was enough to conquer my fears. I have seen a dark shadowy figure once, and once only. It was quite possibly one of the most disturbing experiences of my life, but even then I approach it as either A) being a dream hallucination projected into my room, or B) an actual being in my room, but just because it looks scary, does not mean that it is a scary or ill-willed being...for all I know it's looking at me as if I'm the scary one . If I had the same opportunity, I would attempt a communication.

But to answer your question, I look at SP as a gift that a lot of people don't have the privilege of experiencing. I have used SP as a launching board for many LD's, and as many attempts to achieve an OBE into the Astral (if it exists, I have yet to experience it). Perspective can conquer any fear.

Ah I see. To avoid fear during SP, you simply have to ... stop asking this question because there shouldn't be any fear associated with SP. Once I view it as more of a stepping stone to a potential LD. Thank you, you just lifted something off my chest.

But... let's be honest here, this is a lot easier said than done. I can think "oh ya this will be a LD soon" but as soon as I see that white, praying mantis-like humanoid with no eyes and massive calloused hands and an evil smile and laugh come creeping into my room walking backwards on the ceiling with its hands twisted backwards(actually saw this guy in an LD once!) I know that personally, pure, irrational fear shall consume me and frankly, I will most likely have completely forgotten my earlier rationale. So... if that happens what should I do?

I'd treat that like a lucid dream if you have something you are seeing that is interacting with you eg coming at you.. rather then it just simply being just an image. It is likely that you have aleady entered into a LD and the body you are thinking you are feeling yourself in, is probably not your real physical one.

So treat something like that as a LD and start reacting just like one would if they found themselves in a LD in a place other then in their bedroom laying on their bed. In other words, it is your dream so try to take control of it eg think about attacking that scary thing you see. Keeping in mind that its a dream so it can not really hurt you. If you didnt want to attack it... think of it becoming something you do not at all fear.. eg morphing into a butterfly and hold that thought strongly.

We can start creating dreams before we feel like we are fully into them.

Like he (I think "he") said, that is easier said than done. While it is true that we experience SP every night, it is not normal to be AWARE of it. That is the issue that creates the fear. And the fear intensifies the condition - a vicious cycle, right? The terror consumes you, your instinct is to escape, escape require volition and movement, both of which you are robbed of, added to that can be the plight of suffocating, being unable to call for help and a whole smorgasbord of hallucinations including the famous buzzing. I don't know how anyone can be rational in such a situation. It happens precisely because one thinks their actual body is in mortal danger. If it didn't feel real, it wouldn't be scary to begin with.

I never conquered the fear: I conquered the condition (or so I like to think). It is gone and has never returned.